I Am St. Nick: Stories From Our Community of Faith.

September starts our sharing of personal reflections, thoughts and stories submitted by members of this church family. 

This month, Jennifer Brundige shares with us her story of conversion and healing enlightenment.  Enjoy Jennifer's story.  Please consider sharing YOUR story, too.  All are welcome.

Amen.

-Manny
By Jennifer Brudige
September 2015

I was baptized Roman Catholic and my family was very active in our parish.  From a very early age, I developed a strong faith in God and a belief in the teachings.  At the same time, I knew that I didn't agree with the rules handed down by the hierarchy.  Celibacy and the role of women in the Church really didn't sit well.  I went off to college and explored other ways to express my faith.  I had friends who were Episcopalians and it seemed to be a perfect fit.  It was the same basic teachings but not quite so uptight.  The Unitarian Church had some interesting points to it.  No matter where I turned I was stuck in the mentality that I was Roman Catholic and that was that.  After college, I just stopped going to church.  Even though I never gave up on my faith in God, I carried an empty space and that sense of community.

In my late 30's I started to question my existence on this planet.  In my opinion, the Roman Catholic Church fostered a view of women similar to Gus Portokalos in "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding," we must "get married, make babies."  I had no intention of getting married nor having children and quite frankly, I was, 'starting to look old.'  So what is my purpose here God?  This question took me to a really dark place.  But when you hit rock bottom, your ears open and hear.  And I heard God tell me that my purpose was to teach and heal.  All right then, my new journey began.

Since that time, I have been studying many different types of healing modalities.  After coming to St. Nick's, I took the opportunity to become an active member in the religious order of St. Luke.  Throughout all my studies, I have come to believe  that many of the healing modalities are all basically the same.  They come from a place of love and God.  They are all clear that we do not do the actual healing but rather, act on God's behalf.  We are the conduit of his healing energy, love and the Holy Spirit.  And above all, healing always occurs when we pray.  It might not be exactly what WE want but rather what is most important to God.

What does all this mean to you?  At the end of last year, I had a dental appointment and I really didn't want to go.  Who does?  So I called the office to reschedule but the receptionist talked me out of it.  It was the end of the year, deductible and such.  Even on the day of the appointment I wanted to call and reschedule but something inside was saying, 'no - keep the appointment.'  Fine.  I went.  I was sitting in the dental chair chatting with the hygienist when she told me that she had gotten a call from her doctor.  Her doctor informed her that she had breast cancer.  It was then I knew why I couldn't reschedule that appointment.  My old self would have responded with, 'Oh, I am so sorry to hear that.'  Instead, I said, 'may I pray with you?'  She smiled and said yes!  We took a few minutes and we prayed like nobody's business.  Now cool it was to say may I pray with you rather than I am so sorry.  On a side note, I had my 6 month appointment and she is doing wonderful.  We prayed together again, offering thanks to God for the healing that occurred. 

The point of this story is that you don't need any fancy training or special designation to do God's healing work.  Through my Order of St. Luke studies, I've learn that Jesus told his disciples to "go out and preach the Gospel and heal the people."  Anyone can do it and it is really pretty easy.  Rev. Nigel Mumford, an Episcopal priest, boils it down to this:  "Listen, Love, Pray."  Listen to what the person is telling you and be present in the moment.  Open your heart and let your love and the love of God flow.   Clear your mind and let the Holy Spirit guide your prayers.  Listen, Love, Pray-so simple. Give it a try and you will see the awesome power of our Lord, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

We all understand and appreciate the gift of sharing.  At St. Nicholas we do a tremendous job of offering time, talent and treasure to this community of faith and to the greater Church.  We are blessed and in turn, we share our blessings.

We are inviting anyone and everyone to share a story...YOUR story.  We are united but we are also very diverse and individually unique.  Think for a moment of just how and why you came to St. Nicholas Church.  Who or what moved you to become part of this community, a member of the Episcopal Communion.  How about a story of church, an occasion that moved and perhaps changed you or some special "church person" who helped guide and develop your faith.  So many of us come from other faith traditions and other churches, Episcopal or otherwise.  We wish to know our sisters and brothers better.  The sky is the limit as to what kind of stories are out there.  The depth of our wishing to share and read these recollections is even greater!

We all love a story and there are no better stories than the ones we share with each other about ourselves, our faith, our journeys, spiritual or otherwise.

All are welcome to participate.  No one is too young or too old.  No such thing as a "generation gap" when it comes to stories celebrated and shared.  In fact, I suspect we all have quite a few stories we could submit.  This is YOUR time to do just that...SHARE.  The more we have, the greater and richer our field. 

Think...Pray...Write.  When you have some thing to share, please submit your story (simply reply to any issue of News From Nick) and it will be posted in an upcoming edition of News From Nick.

Thank you for your consideration and willingness to share...we are all the more blessed.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in."  Matt. 25: 35

We're on:  This Friday, September 18th, we will gather with food in hand as we share our gifts with those in need. 

Remember:  meet at Christus Victor (1045 S. Arlington Heights Rd. -- just south of Biesterfield and north of Devon) at 5:30pm with your donated food.

Now that school is back in full force, why not make sure we send our little scholars out with something extra special?  On Saturday, October 3rd and again on Sunday, October 4th, we will bless all backpacks and any other such carrying cases.

Far be it from us to forget our beloved pets.  To honor and celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, who found such joy in God's creatures, we, too, will celebrate our pets with a special blessing.

Parents: make sure your kids bring their backpacks and pets.  Kids: remind your folks so they don't forget to remind you!

Any time we can share in a blessing, well my friends, this is truly a good, right and holy thing.

The St. Nicholas Giving Tree has been a symbol of this community of faith and our willingness to share our resources with the church and with those in need. 

If you're out shopping and have the desire, here are a few things we could use:  Decaffeinated coffee, 11 x 17 copier paper, 8-1/2 x 11 copier paper, paper towels for kitchen & bathrooms.

Thank you each and everyone for your kindness, generosity and dedication.  God bless and sustain us, one and all.

 

As a reminder, the full master calendar is always available online at this link.  Here is the schedule for the next week: